Inside design: Brad Lamb

S@H: So describe the Canadian city of the future.
BL: In five or six years – and we’ve only got five years until all the land runs out – our major cities will be like Tokyo or New York. As for the look, well, I hope it will be a mix of historic buildings and new, modern façades. People who don’t understand modernism want history; they want us to build something that looks 200 years old. Good architects want to build in the style of their time, which is modern. You can’t ask talented architects to copy. We need to let them express themselves; that’s the only way we’ll get something fresh and exciting.

Condo savvy
We asked Toronto condo king Brad Lamb 
for his key dos and don’ts of new-condo purchasing.

DO try to specify where you’d like electrical outlets to be, as well as junction boxes. “Lighting plans are sometimes flexible. Request where you want them to be located, but be prepared to be turned down,” Brad says.

DON’T expect to change floor plans. “Builders have to create vertical stacks for gas and plumbing, so each floor has to be identical,” says Brad. “Besides,” he adds, “some of the most talented designers in the country have created those floor plans, so most of the time you can bet that they’re pretty efficient.”

DO keep in mind that builders move people onto floors as they’re completed. Until the top floors are finished, you may be living for some time in a construction site.

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